That Time I Got Choked Up on the Air

It would only take one hand to count the number of times I've gotten choked up on the air in my 25-year career. This morning was one of them.

I head into Holiday Wish week knowing it is going to be an emotional rollercoaster. Like a heavyweight fighter prepares himself mentally for a fight, I get ready to keep my emotions in check. I have to, in order to clearly get across the important messages I'll be delivering to the audience.

We were in the home stretch of the final day of Holiday Wish Week, when I got a call from Carlos Mota. He is a local Honey Dew Donuts owner. He had called a couple of times earlier in the week to help out some of our other Holiday Wish families. He's no stranger to our program. He calls every year.

I knew Marco's story was going to be a rough one today. When I listen to this boy tell his story, I feel his raw pain.

I had held it together for the most part on the air, but as I took the live call from Carlos, I fumbled.

He talked about three things that he wanted to get Marco and his dad - the third one was what got me. You can listen to the audio here: